Ritchie knows that all white on court is all right for the world and for ever

Sunday 22 June 2008 19.01 EDT
First published on Sunday 22 June 2008 19.01 EDT

Ian Ritchie, as chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club a proud upholder of the customs that govern the world's oldest tennis tournament, has a framed photograph on his office wall. It shows Roger Federer, dressed in an all-black kit, celebrating winning the US Open last September. The message below from the five-times Wimbledon champion? "Is it all black or all white this year, Ian?"

"Oh he'll definitely be in all white, as will Rafael Nadal - he won't be allowed to wear that luminous green top here," said Ritchie. "But those guys, like all the players who come here, respect our stance on that."

Ritchie's refusal to compromise on kit will please those who feared his appointment in April 2006 would signal a shift in the way Wimbledon was run. The former television executive replaced Chris Gorringe, who had run the AELTC for two decades and was so steeped in Wimbledon tradition he once ruled out offering women equal prize money to men on the grounds it would mean not being able to afford "flowers for the flower baskets".

Ritchie did introduce equal prize money last year but much has remained intact and, according to the man who, as a Leeds schoolboy in the 1960s, used to travel to watch matches at Wimbledon, that is essential for the long-term success of the championships.

"Wimbledon is quintessentially British in that it has core values; the white kits, the grass surface, the lack of advertising at the courts. But that is also what makes it popular right around the world," he said. "We have 35 merchandise shops in China and are the only grand slam shown live on mainstream terrestrial television in Japan. I am convinced that is because of the uniqueness of the tournament; people see Wimbledon and immediately recognise it because it looks so different from any other tennis tournament."

Nothing makes a tournament stand out more than the sight of cranes hovering over the venue. Work continues on revamping Centre Court; it began last year and is scheduled to be completed in time for Wimbledon 2009, when the show court's capacity will have increased by 1,200 to 15,000, all under a retractable roof. Alongside it will be a new Court No2 - its concrete shell has just been completed.

Those developments illustrate the challenge which faces Ritchie for, while he remains the custodian of the values which have defined Wimbledon since its birth in 1877, he also sees the need to keep modernising. A failure to do so, he admits, could see the championship lose its grand slam status.

"There are always threats to Wimbledon from countries that would love to have a slam and feel they could organise one better than us," said Ritchie. "That is why we are upgrading Centre Court and why we have just installed three 500-seater restaurants. It is also why last year we introduced Hawk-Eye and this year will show images from it, as well as statistics, on new digital screens at Centre Court."

The introduction of Hawk-Eye has arguably been Ritchie's greatest triumph. The system converts matches into 3D computerised visuals, allowing umpires to view any shot from any angle in seconds. Unpopular with players, including Federer, the device has established itself as part of play at Wimbledon and the US and Australian Opens.

"Whenever we change something, I get hoards of letters from people saying 'why have you done that?'" said Ritchie, "but there was not a word about Hawk-Eye. I can't think what the next technological advance may be but we'll always remain open to any suggestions."

Among other changes this year is a single-queuing system for on-day ticket sales and record prize money for the competitors - the two singles champions will receive £750,000 each. But in terms of impact, neither compares with the arrival of a new leading challenger to Fred Perry's status as the last British man to have won Wimbledon, which he did in 1936. There is great expectation surrounding Andy Murray's appearance following his absence last year due to injury, particularly as he will be competing at the first Wimbledon without Tim Henman in 15 years.

"If Andy has a great run this place will be jumping, I have no doubt about that," Ritchie said. "We always like having Andy here. Andy has a stronger personality than Tim but we want strong personalities here. More importantly, we want talented players here, which Andy certainly is."

Ritchie is already working on preparations for the next few years.

"The Olympics are here in 2012 and considering the last time the club hosted the Games was in 1908, there is great excitement about that," he said. "I plan to be still here when the Olympics are on. This is a challenging job but one I can't imagine not doing."